Hotel Complaints
by Beckon
Summary: "You want me to distract Kung Lao," Jade finished, as she walked ahead of the woman, only to stop and turn around to face her, crossing her arms as she did so. And it was easy to note that Kitana refused to make eye contact with her when she did. "Are you really enacting a Wingman code with me right now?" [MK11 AU/Spoilers].
1. Chapter 1

It was still difficult for Jade to comprehend the full scope of what was going on.

One minute they were at the Tournament, witnessing the last fighting round for Earthrealm.

And then the next, they found themselves ripped out of their own timeline and ditched into the Outworld koliseum- dropped off into a future they wouldn't see for over two decades.

A haphazard decision made by a Titan, a God to the Elder Gods; a figure Jade had thought only existed in the old texts.

And now, they were locked out of their own timeline, forced to function and fight in this future timeline until they either defeated Kronika at her own game, or allowed the woman to reverse time under her own power.

And given the kind of people Kronika had recruited for her own army, it was a given that the timeline the Titan had envisioned would not benefit anyone but her own chosen.

Jade still found that concept alone difficult to make sense of it.

After giving herself countless migraines trying to question and understand the motives, she decided to understood it just enough to get herself moving and fighting again. It all boiled down to the fact that they couldn't allow Kronika's plan to succeed- and that was all she needed to know right now.

After all, trying to comprehend their new reality was damn near impossible.

But trying to comprehend the full scope of the situation that they found themselves in now was even more tedious- and demanded her full attention; lest she forget that she wasn't in her own timeline and by technicality, held no power in this one.

Twenty-five years in the future, and most of whom were ripped from the past came to find out that they were dead now.

The Tournament had bested everyone, drawing a kill count that surpassed any and all previous ones.

Life went on without them.

Mileena had taken over Shao Kahn's throne after the Emperor's death, reigning over Outworld as their new Kahnum. And as predicted, the Tarkatan tribes flocked to her, reviling under her newfound power and ruling- dedicating undying loyalty to her, as they had once done when she was just a Princess.

It was hard to believe that the clone Shang Tsung had created from the cursed magic in his Flesh Pits would be the one to outlive them, to out-power them and rule Outworld with a hand that rivaled that of Shao Kahn.

If someone had told her that twenty-five years ago, Jade would have beaten them for spinning lies at her.

And yet, the reality of it was here.

It felt like she was still trying to shake off the initial shock of stepping into the Koliseum and watching as the Tarkatan sister stood up from her throne, flanked by two massive Tigores on each side of her. Jade remembered the sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she watched the woman descend from her throne, walking with the grace and power that had come so easily to her.

And she remembered the cold shock of how Mileena welcomed them with opened arms- a gesture Jade never would have figured from the woman. But considering how out of place they felt already, Kitana and her decided to go along with Mileena, despite the subtle objections Raiden had made about the motion.

Outworld was in the midst of a civil war.

Despite inheriting Outworld from Shao Kahn, and being his one-true heir, Mileena's position as Kahnum was being questioned by a rival who saw himself fit as a better ruler. And Jade felt a bitter shiver when Mileena revealed the name to her- Kotal.

As situations would, what could get worse certainly will.

It was with Kotal that Kronika had sided with; she promised the man power, promised him Outworld- promising an end to such a useless war for the throne.

Mileena was reluctant to side with Earthrealm but Kitana managed to convince her that it was the better option for everyone. If they could stop Kronika then they could at least control how things would change from here on- and at the very least, she could be assured that Kotal would not get the Outworld throne.

And given how Baraka had immediately aligned himself with Mileena at first sight, it only further cemented their leadership over the Tarkatan army.

And getting dozens of tribes, each consisting of hundreds of Tarkatans on their side was a huge step already taken in the right direction.

While Jade had grown up around Tarkatans, with them being Shao Kahn's favorite fighters in the arenas and on the battlefield, she had never stayed at their camps before; she used to visit them, sure, if only long enough to drop off the Emperor's new battle plans before bolting out of the place. The places always reeked of burning flesh and raw meat- and it was difficult to ignore the buckets of blood and spare parts left out all over the place.

But for now, that was where their place of arrangement was.

Mileena didn't bat an eye when she showed them around the camp; despite the woman's appearance, it was still uncanny to see her openly engaging in Tarkatan activity- such as fishing a severed arm out of bucket mid-conversation. Jade thought Kitana was gonna throw up on the spot, but the Princess managed to keep a straight face despite it all.

They were given tents that were mostly separated from the tribe, out of courtesy, thankfully.

Mileena showed them which tents were common areas, and which ones were used for battle tactics and conveying information.

Out of the Tournament and right into war.

Jade ran a hand across her brow, wiping away the beads of sweat, and contemplating once more if Outworld had gotten hotter in the passing decades. She tried to keep her attention on looking at the scattered maps in front of her, trying to make sense of Mileena's pencil work, while also trying to figure out the new landscapes and territorial markings.

Map reading wasn't her greatest skill, but it was something she was always trying to work on.

Looking across the table, Jade noted that Kitana seemed less than focused on the map and more on her own thoughts.

No doubt she was worried about her Shaolin companion.

As she had been for days now.

They needed to keep track of Kotal's movements now due to his involvement with Kronika, and Lord Raiden had asked that they keep an eye on it while he tackled the issues ongoing in Earthrealm. Doing so, without being spotted, was a harder task than she realized it to be- especially considering that the Osh-Tekk had gotten skilled at spotting any and all Tarkatan scouting parties.

So even with the large number of soldiers they had, each and every one of them was a no-go.

But they needed to do more than just scout out the Osh-Tekk army.

Given how tight Kronika was running the ship here, the best way for them to get any information was to just infiltrate the army head on.

She and Kitana were a dead give-away as well, given how few and far between female Osh-Tekk warriors were; if two of them were to just randomly step in, it would be too noticeable and easily questioned. Not to mention, Kotal had to have been aware of Kronika's tactics of timeline converging by now; he would know to keep an eye out for her and Kitana.

It also didn't help that Kotal's obsession with her while he worked under Shao Kahn only made her a greater target- as well as made her want to stay as far away from him as she could manage it.

But... Liu Kang and Kung Lao were unorthodox enough to fit in.

The two Shaolin had arrived at the camp under the Lord Raiden's request of helping out wherever they could with the Outworld war, which unfortunately had them walking into their biggest task as of yet. There was initial hesitation about infiltrating, but the two eventually agreed to do so- under the pressure of needing to loosen Kronika's hold over Outworld.

They spent a few days observing the Osh-Tekk scouting parties and examining the dressings of those who had been killed in battle- which had been difficult to do since the Tarkatan warriors kept ripping apart the bodies before they could study them. And once they seemed confident enough to pull the move off, the two Shaolin dressed themselves in full Osh-Tekk war attire and slipped into an Osh-Tekk patrol mid-battle.

Jade was surprised at how well it worked- or at least, how well it seemed to be working out.

There had been no sign of danger otherwise.

If the two had been figured out, she was confident that they could fight their way out- and if not, then it wasn't like they had been sent any of their body parts in a box or anything.

Yet, anyways.

Which was probably what had Kitana so worked up.

"I'm sure he's fine," Jade spoke, without prompt, breaking the thick silence in the tent.

Kitana gave a quiet sigh and pushed herself to her feet. "I'm not thinking about him," she replied.

And Jade gave a doubtful look in response.

"There's a lot more to be worried about," Kitana reminded. "I mean, just look at where we are right now, look at what's going on around us- this isn't what I imagined us doing a week ago. I was looking forward to the Tournament being over so things would calm down and go back to normal- and so we didn't have to wear those stupid costumes and stand around looking pretty."

It didn't help that the woman had also found out days ago that Shao Kahn wasn't the father she thought he was.

That they had both come from Edenia, the long-lost realm.

That Shao Kahn had killed Kitana's father, and had resurrected her mother just to enslave her as his own Queen.

There was a lot else to be thinking about, to be worried about.

"I wanted to go traveling again," Jade agreed, perhaps to lighten the mood, "- not like this though."

"Nothing like this," Kitana nodded as she slowly paced around the large tent. "I keep thinking about what's going to happen if we don't stop Kronika. Will she just reverse time and make us keep living the same events over and over again? What if this isn't the first time we've been here, the first time we've had to do this? How do we know she hasn't already won?"

"It's best if we don't think like that," Jade started, stepping back from the table as she reached out to grab Kitana by the arm. "Let's just focus on what's in front of us right now, and work our way down the list. If, and by the grace of the Elder Gods, we do meet Kronika to face, we can ask her ourselves. And ask her what she's expecting to get from doing all of this. Because I don't know about you, but I don't want to stay in this timeline. I want to go back to our time, back to our home, and fix everything exactly where it started."

At the Tournament.

Kitana nodded again in silent agreement. "I want the same."

Jade started to speak only to be interrupted by the sudden burst of a horn blowing outside of the tent. Given the following chorus of chants, as well as the silhouette rush of several Tarkatan warriors running by, something must've been approaching the camp. And given how she could hear the cracking of blades being forced out, they must not be liking what they were seeing.

Then again, the Tarkatans in Shao Kahn's palace always drew their blades in show whenever the Emperor walked by.

Perhaps instead, Mileena and Baraka had returned from visiting with Queen Sheeva sooner than anticipated- or perhaps the two weren't able to reach the Shokan territory at all.

"I'll check it out," Jade assured, as she released Kitana's arm and started out of the tent- hoping that the riled activity was just an acting welcoming party.

And such seemed to be the case as she watched the crowd of Tarkatans moving back through the camp, looking as though they were escorting someone in the middle. The tribe had a pack mentality and it wasn't uncommon for them to crowd around a target they were trying to protect- and while it was the best security in all of Outworld, it also made it difficult for Jade to see over the Tarkatan cluster to see who it was.

But as the group drew in closer, it became smaller and smaller as several warriors stayed back to give out space.

And soon enough, Jade understood why there had been such an uproar.

The answer to her curiosity resided in the two blue-painted figures who stepped out from behind the Tarkatan shield.

And while she wouldn't say that her heart doubled in speed, something like it happened as she felt a rush of relief wash over her. She whispered a prayer to the Gods for returning them in safety, before she ushered the two of them into the tent- carefully shooing the rest of the Tarkatans away. There was no doubt that the bladed warriors were drawn in by the familiar scent of paint and the lingering smell of the Osh-Tekk.

They were lucky the pack didn't slaughter them at first sight.

Jade followed up behind them and pulled the tent closed before she looked the two Shaolins over- noting that they didn't immediately appear injured, which hopefully meant that they had managed to sneak away unnoticed. And hopefully they did so because their duties were done, and not because of other reasons.

Given the lack of communication, it was difficult to not think of the worst possible outcome right off.

"You're back," Kitana spoke, a mess of genuine relief and smiles, before she seemingly caught herself and attempted to show some restraint in her behavior. "I'm glad, we were starting to get worried. I take it the scouting went well?"

Jade shook her head at the woman's acting and earned a subtle, scorned look in quick response.

"Well enough," Liu Kang answered, as he reached up and removed the leather face mask, allowing his hair to fall loose from where it had been pinned back. "We obtained some new intel about Kotal's movements- and how he's planning to utilize the Osh-Tekk. We weren't able to get much information based on how he's working directly with Kronika, or how she's getting involved in Outworld, but it's clear that he's working under her orders."

So some good news, but not entirely what they were looking for.

"Mileena will want to hear about everything," Kitana nodded.

"Is the Kahnum around?"

"No, she and Baraka left to speak with Queen Sheeva this morning; she'll be back by evening," Kitana replied. "Will you two need to be back in Earthrealm by then?"

"We told Lord Raiden that we would return when we were done here, but it is important that the Kahnum hears about what we uncovered first," Liu Kang assured. "If she won't be back until evening then we will stay until she returns. It will give us plenty of time to get out of... all of this."

To say that the two monks looked miserable was one way of putting it.

They had both departed a week before in their infiltration mission, which meant that the two had spent a week painted up in blue and yellow- as well as dressed in the traditional tribe-wear of leather, feathers, and skulls.

A far-cry from their more modest attires.

It couldn't be denied, however, that due to both men's physiques, they both fit well into the Osh-Tekk wear of revealing skin.

Liu Kang wore a leather shoulder pad and arm piece that had to be strapped across his chest to keep it on. There was a heavy-looking necklace made of arrowheads and ornate trinkets that hung low across his collarbones. And asides from those two articles, the man was bare-chested from the waist up. And even from the waist down, it was little more than bones strung together to make a belt that kept the hanging loincloth and waist wrap tied to him- which ended up leaving his thighs exposed for the most part.

And Kung Lao wasn't much better off, with only a full feathered-necklace draped across his shoulders and full feathered bands around his biceps. He sported a similar looking waist wrap that had been overly decorated with large blue and black feathers- a trademark of the Osh-Tekk. His thighs were partly shielded by patched-together boot covers that went up to the lower part of them- still leaving his upper thighs exposed between the different layers of the loincloth.

To fit in with the Osh-Tekk warriors, they were each painted blue and yellow, with the paint covering a majority of their exposed skin.

The spots of pale skin between the wearing painted lines only showcased how long they had been wearing the facade.

To Outworld fashion, they fit in perfectly; conforming to the standards of most Outworld tribes, who wore the revealing outfits due to the heat and due to Outworld's lack of depending on armor or weaponry in fighting. Most tribes, Tarkatans included, fought with their bare fists.

But in Earthrealm standards, they were vulnerable.

And it was easy to see why they might feel as such.

"You two should... clean up," Kitana spoke- and it looked as though the woman was trying to fight back either a look of disgust or of humor. "I'll speak to some of the Tarkatan guards and see that we get some clean tents set up for you. It might be best to hold on to the outfits that you have on- just in case we need them again."

And Jade was certain now that the woman was laughing, given how her voice cracked with her last sentence just before she headed out of the tent. Despite that the two monks had not only risked their lives for them and done them a great service by volunteering, she couldn't deny just how ridiculous the both of them looked.

"I take it there was no trouble given with you two fitting in?" Jade questioned, as she leaned back against the map table behind her.

"Not much," Liu Kang answered. "We had a few close calls but nothing serious, thankfully."

"I'm glad to hear that," Jade nodded, "when we received no initial word from you two, we were worried something might've happened."

"We were trying to fit in and avoid suspicions," Kung Lao spoke, "- couldn't exactly find time to write a letter home."

She chuckled lightly, taking the answer as a given. "Tell me, did anyone find it odd that you two wore masks? Most Osh-Tekk that I have witnessed only wore face paint."

"Well, there's about as many Osh-Tekk that look like us as there are ones that look like you, Jade," Kung Lao remarked, adjusting the half-skull mask he had been ultimately forced to wear. "There were a few that wore masks in the camp we stayed in, thankfully."

"You're alive, that's the important thing here," she noted. "I'm impressed that Earthrealmers like you could pull it off."

"At the risk of how it might sound, Lady Jade, we weren't given much of a choice," Liu Kang reminded.

And she had to give him that.

They might've sprung the idea of infiltrating on the monks without much further thought from there- and of course, because they were trying to save Earthrealm from Kronika as well, they went with it.

But after a week spent in paint, they were probably not as happy about the whole thing.

Jade glanced up as she spotted Kitana peeking through the tent opening before the woman ushered her outside. "If you two will give me a moment, there's some business that I need to attend to outside."

Moving past the two monks, Jade stepped out with Kitana and followed the woman as she distanced herself from the tent.

"Those poor boys," Jade remarked with a soft chuckle. "That was a lot for us to ask of them."

"It was," Kitana agreed. "I didn't anticipate them being gone for as long as they were, which only feels like we should be more courtesy for the work they pulled off."

"Are we not?" she mused.

"I am only saying," Kitana replied without hesitation. "But, if I might ask you a favor, Jade, about this whole ordeal."

Jade found herself curious at the remark, especially considering that the woman could've brought it up at any point of the day- and yet waited until now to speak about it. "Of course, what is it?"

"I'd like to speak to Liu Kang before Mileena arrives- preferably alone," she started, "but he will want Kung Lao with him if they are to discuss their findings about the Osh-Tekk."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about their findings until after Mileena arrives," Jade reminded. "- or is that how you wish to _persuade_ him into your tent?"

"Don't be crude, Jade."

She chuckled at the sharp retort. "You want me to distract Kung Lao," Jade finished, as she walked ahead of the woman, only to stop and turn around to face her, crossing her arms as she did so. And it was easy to note that Kitana refused to make eye contact with her when she did. "Are you really enacting a Wingman code with me right now? I thought you weren't thinking about him."

"There is nothing nefarious about this," Kitana repeated, somehow keeping her voice calm- yet firm. "I would just like a simple, quiet conversation."

"_Alone_," she reminded.

"Am I asking for too much?" the woman huffed.

"No, no," Jade assured with a quiet chuckle before she patted the woman on the back. "I'll do as the Princess asks, so that the Princess might get what she wants- if she can even get it from the Chosen One."

* * *

"Gods, I hope this paint comes off," Kung Lao spoke, as he pulled off the skull mask he had been wearing for days now.

His skin felt unbearably dry underneath the paint, which had been slathered on and re-applied throughout the passing days- only to then go on to bake in the Outworld sun. And since it was a clay-based paint, it just got hard and cracked every time he moved. By this point, he was pretty certain that it was going to take his skin with it when he peeled it off- which was only going off the basis that he'd be able to get the paint off to begin with.

"You're telling me," Liu Kang replied.

It was a rarity to hear the man complain, but this entire ordeal had been enough to break him.

Spending a week or more living with the Osh-Tekk, following their routines and making note of the orders being passed around from the Kotal himself had been rough. He was still surprised at how well they had managed to integrate into the tribe, given that they just sort of snuck in mid-battle and acted like they belonged there. Thankfully it seemed like the Osh-Tekk didn't really keep a headcount on anyone.

There was the paint, there was the ridiculous outfits- not to mention the occasional sparring matches between other Osh-Tekk.

And because neither of them could risk using their trademark fighting styles, or risk standing out in the tribe, they took a few more hits than they were used to- which ended up leaving them scuffed up and bloody most days.

[He had had to leave his hat behind with the Tarkatans, which he really hated doing.]

But they had gotten the information they wanted- or at least the best that they could get.

Which was better than nothing.

Kung Lao rubbed at his face, feeling where his own sweat had dried on top of the paint, which only made it feel more dry and itchy. Looking over to Liu Kang, he watched as the man touched at the curved bone that had been pierced through his septum- well, punctured more like it.

"I still can't believe you let them do that," Kung Lao remarked.

"I wasn't exactly in a place to refuse," Liu Kang replied, as he grabbed one end of the polished bone and slowly pulled on it- carefully pulling the bone out from what was no doubt still a raw piercing.

Kung Lao could feel his stomach churning at the subtle crunch of the bone being pulled from cartilage before Liu Kang removed it completely. And there was a steady line of blood that had trickled down from the crude piercing and was now dripping off of his chin.

"I don't want to hear you complain," the man spoke, as he used the back of his hand to wipe some of the blood off.

He had gotten lucky in avoiding getting anything pierced, _thankfully_.

It had been brought up once, but then the conversation was changed to a different topic- and he managed to avoid it being brought up again.

"Hey, I had to eat that dinosaur heart while it was still beating," Kung Lao reminded. "And we're both lucky that they didn't see me throw it up afterwards."

He heard the other man chuckle at him.

"Fair enough," Liu Kang agreed. "I'm surprised they let you have the honor of killing it."

"Yeah, because I really enjoyed ripping the heart out with my hands and teeth."

Running a hand through his hair, Kung Lao scratched at the back of his neck now, feeling where the mess of paint and sunburn had damaged his skin beyond what it was used to. It itched but was also painful to the touch, which only made his conundrum worse. He had a feeling it was going to take him awhile to get it back to feeling normal again, at least hopefully before it decided to just fall off.

A dip in the Grotti would probably help it, but that wasn't quite a luxury he could have right now.

"Should we get in contact with Raiden?" Kung Lao asked.

"We should, but I don't want to rush our talk with the Kahnum," Liu Kang replied. "If we're lucky, we'll be back in Earthrealm by tonight- and from there we can catch up on what we've missed out on. Hopefully there's been some progress made on the Special Forces's end."

He was less than thrilled about going back to Earthrealm only to sit through more talking and more planning- and probably some other mission that the two of them needed to handle.

He was tired enough from the traveling they had done with the Osh-Tekk, let alone how long it had taken them to get back to the Tarkatan camp.

"Knock, knock."

They both looked up at the voice calling from outside, and Kung Lao watched as a hand stuck its way through the tent opening- offering a brief wave to let them know who it was.

"Are you two still decent?" Jade called in.

"It's fine, Jade," Liu Kang assured.

"Yeah, Liu Kang only took his piercing out," Kung Lao added on.

The Edenian stepped in and started to speak before she stopped. "Oh," Jade started, her eyes obviously having landed on the half-smeared blood on Liu Kang's face, as well as on the piece of bone he had in one hand. "I wasn't aware that was... pierced."

"It's just a little blood," he replied. "I'm fine."

"I'm sure Kitana will want to make a note about it," she insisted otherwise. "I'll ask around and see if there's something we can do about the injury. In the meantime, there's been two tents set up with your things inside."

"Thank you, Jade," Liu Kang nodded, looking surprisingly relieved at the news.

Not to say that he wasn't either.

"Can you make sure-" Kung Lao started.

"I'll make sure the Tarkatan guards leave you alone," Jade finished. "They don't like the Osh-Tekk smell on you, is all."

"Believe me, neither do we," he remarked, "but I'd appreciate it if they'd stop sniffing us every few seconds."

"You get used to it," the woman chuckled, before she ushered them to follow her. "I'll escort you to your tents to keep them off of you."

"Sounds good to me."

Kung Lao watched as Jade started out of the tent once more before she stopped and turned back.

"Oh, Liu Kang, if you have a moment after you get cleaned up, Kitana wishes to speak with you."

"Of course," Liu Kang nodded.

"She says there's no rush, so take your time."

* * *

Jade escorted the two of them to the tents that she and Kitana had helped set up.

She had ensured that Liu Kang went to the tent closest to Kitana's, while she set Kung Lao up a little further away. If either of the two men noticed the odd arrangement, they didn't mention it; then again, they were both probably too exhausted to make sense of anything going on around them.

But she did keep her promise in keeping the Tarkatans off of Kung Lao's back- even going so far as to using her staff to ease a few of them away when they approached. The Tarkatans chuffed at her but did little else to fight her before backing off.

Pulling the tent open, Jade stepped back to allow him in first. "Here you go, a nice _empty_ tent- just for you."

"Real sweet of you, Jade," Kung Lao teased in return as he stepped inside.

Jade noticed the way he scratched at his skin still, no doubt irritated by the paint that had been slathered on, dried, layered over, and then dried again to his skin. All of that compounded with the Outworld heat and sweating had more than likely soaked every bit of moisture out of his skin.

She watched as he paused to look around the tent, which had been fitted with the usual living arrangements. A few fur rugs covered the ground, while a gracious pile of pillows served as bedding more or less. Tarkatans weren't much for luxury and even seemed to venomously deny any- preferring the bare minimum needed to function most days; then again, their main focus was usually on food.

There were some stones laid out towards the back of tent, reserved for a sort of washing area; there was a hole in the middle of the stones for the water to run down so one didn't have to risk getting their feet stuck in mud while they washed off.

Once he seemed comfortable with his new surroundings, Jade watched as Kung Lao immediately set on removing the thigh-length boot covers and boots he was forced to wear- leaning forward to slip them off. And she noted the way his bent positioning caused the hanging fabric around his waist to pull, showing off a bare thigh coated in smeared paint.

Cocking her head, she found herself looking for a better angle of the view before she quietly stepped inside- allowing the tent opening to fall closed behind her.

When Kung Lao did manage to toss the boots aside, it revealed how the paint had been smeared down along his legs as well, going all the way down to his calves; which seemed arbitrary given the length of the boots.

"I brought something that might help with getting the paint off," Jade offered, "as well as few other things that might help as well."

Her words seemed to catch him by surprise, no doubt he seemed to have thought she had already departed.

"That would be great," Kung Lao sighed as he straightened up; his hands moving to rub against his lower back as he did, "- because I don't think this shit is going to come off easily."

"I'd offer to hose you down if there was one around here," she humored.

"Honestly, I'd gladly take it."

Jade chuckled and watched as he removed the feather and skull necklace now, tossing it aside with the boots. She wondered if he remembered Kitana mentioning that it'd be a good idea to keep the costume, and he was just trying to keep all of the pieces together.

"Just tell me this stuff isn't like a paint thinner or anything," Kung Lao continued.

"It's an oil; it'll help break the paint down and loosen it off the skin," Jade assured, as she pulled her staff out from behind her back. She waited until he seemed distracted with a piece of paint peeling off of his ribs before she slowly eased her staff forward.

With a steady hand and a keen eye, she tucked the tip of it underneath the cloth that hung across the front of his hips- and pushed it aside.

"But first you have to tell me just how far up the paint goes."

"_Hey_-"

And almost immediately, he batted the tip of her staff aside.

"It's only a question," Jade teased.

"Perhaps so, but there's no need to be crude, Jade," Kung Lao remarked, now keeping a hand over the front of the cloth to keep it weighed.

"I'm just curious," she continued as she stepped towards him now. "The Kotal paints himself in full blue, I just wanted to know if you followed his example."

"Are you implying that I painted my dick blue?" Kung Lao questioned.

"Maybe someone else could have," Jade offered with a subtle shrug, as she slipped the tip of her staff underneath the separate cloth piece that hung at his side. Pushing the material back, she further exposed a portion of his thigh- even catching a glimpse of his hip. And surprisingly enough, he didn't stop her this time, no doubt having caught on to her game by now- and perhaps willing to see how far she was going to go with it. "At least tell me if you're wearing anything under this."

"Jade-"

She ran the tip of her staff down the length of his exposed thigh and watched as he stepped back from the caress. "Perhaps you should change into something a lot less _accessible_ before I find out for myself."

"Believe me, I would _like_ to- but you're kind of inhibiting me," he reminded, "- and I would much rather get this paint off of me first."

"Allow me to assist with that then."

Kung Lao shot her an exasperated expression, but did little to stop her from closing the space between them. "You know, I don't think anyone really understands just how you are sometimes," he remarked. "Everyone always assumes it's me who's the troublemaker here."

"You are the troublemaker," Jade reminded, as she moved her staff to push against his abdomen now, gently guiding him to where she wanted him to go. "I'm just the one who has to put you back in line."

"And you're very authoritative about it."

She reached out and placed a hand against his chest, pulling his focus back on her now. "Well, most good little Monks listen the first time," she mused, as she leaned in to tease him with a kiss- distracting him from her ulterior motive.

Dropping her staff, she knocked the tip of it behind his knees and felt the way his legs gave out from the surprise strike. And while his balance was compromised, she pushed against his chest and watched as he fell backwards- ultimately landing on the collected pillows on the ground.

There was something to be said about how easily he had gone down, but she wasn't going to question his training.

Especially considering how he laid positioned underneath her- half propped up by the pillows while his legs were sprawled out in front of him.

"Since when was I ever a good little Monk?" Kung Lao replied, as he started to push himself up- only to be pushed back by her staff against his chest now. "Jade, at least let me get this paint off of me first- please."

"Don't worry," she assured, shortening her staff now before she attached it to the back of her belt. "I said I would take care of you, didn't I?"

"I don't think you said it in those words."

She offered him a shrug before she stepped back. "Now be good and don't move," Jade started, taking a few steps backwards to make sure he heeded to her words, before she turned and walked back to where she had dropped off a few supplies at the front of the tent. She had pulled together a water bucket, a couple of rags, as well as a few other things she thought he might need. This had all been put together before she had formulated an idea of how to distract him, but now she was glad that she did.

She had a couple hours worth of stuff to distract him with.

Carrying the things back over to him, she noted that he had heeded her warning as she dropped the water bucket next to him. She watched as he seemed to eye her with caution as he sat up, before she knelt down next to him- grabbing one of the dry rags and plunging it into the lukewarm water. And when he reached out to take it from her, she bypassed his hand and pressed it against one of his shoulders instead.

"That's really not necessary-"

"We sent you on a week-long mission to go undercover with the Osh-Tekk, in our places might I add, for a realm that is not Earthrealm, and you came back looking like this," Jade interrupted. "The least I can do is help you start to look human again." She moved a hand to cup the back of his head as she carefully brought the rag up to his neck and jaw now. "So, just let me do this, okay?"

He seemed reluctant to trust her but didn't fight her.

Water wouldn't enough to take the paint off, but it was enough to strip the initial layer of dirt from his skin. Outworld made it near impossible to keep anything clean; if the two Shaolin had traveled across part of the plains to get back to camp, there was no doubt that they had been subjected to a dust storm or two along the way.

Oddly enough, washing him down made the painted clay more vibrant against his skin.

"So tell me, did anything of interest happen while you were in the Osh-Tekk camps?" Jade questioned, speaking for conversation sake, as she worked against his chest now.

"I thought we were going to wait until Mileena came back before we discussed it?" Kung Lao replied in question.

"Sure, the Kronika and political aspects of it," she remarked. "I just wanted to know if anything else happened."

When he didn't immediately answer her, she found herself anticipating something juicy- or at least, controversial in some sense.

"This is starting to get really weird for me, can I at least help with this? It's just- it doesn't feel right for you to do it," he spoke instead, as he made another pass to take the rag from her hand- which she once more pulled away from his reach.

Jade chuckled lightly at his evident frustration with her, surprised that he seemed to be the one annoyed by her antics- or perhaps by something else. "Sure," she relented, "but only if you tell me what's on your mind-"

"Done," Kung Lao agreed.

Part of her wanted to be surprised but she supposed they all had their limits- and she relented in giving him the damp rag in her hand, and also access to the water bucket.

And she watched as the first thing he did was wet the torn rag and cover his face with it, using both hands to scrub up and down against it.

And she supposed there was something to be said about him obviously having a preference for what he wanted to clean first.

When he seemed to be finished with his face, he moved the rag to scrub at the back of his neck before he moved under his jaw once more. There was a thin layer of water droplets on his skin now, mimicking the look of sweat that had long since dried to him- now since washed away.

At the very least, he seemed rather relieved now.

"Kotal talked about you."

Every bit of amusement Jade had been feeling, that she had been holding on to, drained out of her like someone had pulled the plug out from the pit of her stomach.

It seemed like Kung Lao knew how the words would hit and didn't make eye contact with her, not at first anyways.

"I just think that you should know about that before we go any further with this business in Outworld," he continued, subconsciously scrubbing at the back of one shoulder now before he stopped- and it was only then that he looked at her again. "He knows you're here- and he wants you along with the Outworld throne. He said that Kronika gave him that promise."

She wouldn't deny the cold chill that ran down her back at the words.

"I'm not surprised," Jade spoke, steadying herself as she watched him continue on with the washing.

"How do you two know each other?" Kung Lao questioned.

Jade leaned back against the pillows next to him, forgoing the temporary duty she had assigned herself to. "We both worked under Shao Kahn. He was one of the Emperor's Generals, and I was Kitana and Mileena's bodyguard. We only ever saw each other in passing, but... he seemed to form this obsessive outlook on me. We did spar a few times but after awhile it felt like he had ulterior motives so I cut the matches down- and just beat him senseless whenever we did spar. I just stayed cordial around him to keep things at peace, but I guess he saw my kindness as something more- as most men do."

"Oh."

The soft word of quiet realization coming from the Shaolin was enough to break the somber mood.

"Not you, you dumbass," Jade retorted, lightly slapping him on the arm- and hearing him laugh in return. "Either way you tell the story, there was never anything between us- nothing like whatever fiction he has conjured up in his head. He must think my sudden appearance here is like some answering from God."

"Considering how he spoke, I would believe it," Kung Lao agreed, before he slowly laid back next to her. "I don't doubt that you could hold your own if you two crossed paths."

"But," she spoke, lingering on the word she knew was already on his mind, "- you're worried anyways."

"We've been ripped out of one timeline and put into another," he defended, "and there's a lot more going on in this place than what we were dealing with. I just- I'm out of my element and I don't know what's possible anymore. It doesn't feel like I even know anyone here, but I'm expected to just get in line and help with the assembly."

His words were punctured by a pause, punctured by a quiet sigh that soon followed.

"I'm worried about everything."

She could share in that sentiment.

Pushing herself back up, Jade looking him over once more, before she glanced to the front of the tent, and then back to him. "I'm realizing now that I never brought your clothes in here," she noted, as she pushed herself to her feet- dusting herself off as she did. "So, let's get one less thing to worry about, and help get that paint off of you once you're finished washing up- and get you back into some real clothing."

"That sounds really good," he chuckled, as he pushed himself back up as well. "Do you have my hat with you?"

"Yes, but I'm not giving it to you until I know that you've washed _every_ inch of you," Jade called over her shoulder before she stepped out of his tent.

And she was careful to pull it tightly closed behind her before she looked around at the camp- noting that all the activity from before seemed to have calmed down. Most of the Tarkatans had retreated to the fire pit for easy relaxing, despite the Outworld heat being hot enough as it was. But considering the fresh body they had just put up over the fire, they were all probably waiting around for it to finish cooking.

Jade tried to ignore the smell.

Heading back to her own tent, Jade paused and stepped back out of sight as she watched Liu Kang approach Kitana's tent- and quickly be let inside. It seemed like the Shaolin had mostly just dressed out of the Osh-Tekk costume and back into his own, more than likely more curious about what Kitana wanted to speak about.

And so now her job was in full swing.

Done and done.


	2. Chapter 2

Quickly stepping into her tent, Jade grabbed Kung Lao's things that she had been keeping with her and stepped back out without suspicion.

She was mindful to keep her retreating footsteps quiet, lest Kitana think that someone was rummaging through her tent and would then feel the need to investigate- thus ruining the alone time the woman wanted with Liu Kang.

[And thus, ruining her own time with Kung Lao.]

While she moved with that thought in mind, Jade still had her doubts that Kitana would hear, let alone care about some vague footsteps.

Heavens knew the Tarkatans liked to pace around the camp with little to no ongoing direction.

And with plenty to distract her, Kitana was barely in the mindset to pay attention to anything that wasn't directed at her.

Heading back across the camp, Jade made it back to the tent in time to see Kung Lao standing up and walking about again; it looked like he was trying to stretch out his legs. He had removed a few more articles of Osh-Tekk clothing, namely the feathered bands around his biceps and the feathered strings around his waist. But given how she walked in and watched as he rubbed at the inside of one thigh, probably just massaging the tight muscle, she was hoping that maybe he had removed a little more than what was just visible as well.

"I've got your final step back into civilization right here," Jade teased, closing the tent behind her once more before she moved to set his clothing aside on a nearby folding table.

"Yeah? Were you keeping them with you?" Kung Lao teased in return.

"I kept them in a trunk."

Of course, she conveniently omitted the part where she might've snuck his shirt out once or twice to sleep in it.

"Now then, let's get started on stripping that paint off," she continued, as she picked up the bottle of oil she had set aside when she was setting up his tent. Tossing the glass bottle between her hands, she watched as the murky contents were shaken up with the motions- and wondered if that was a good or bad thing. "This _should_ help- at least, I know some of the Tarkatans use it to get their war paint off."

"Oh, so you don't actually know if it'll work then?" he questioned.

"Well, you don't really have a choice but to let me pour this over you, so-" Jade replied, humoring him with a brief shrug- which he didn't seem to take to as well as she thought he would. Then again, she had been dangling this relief in front of him for so long, only to now admit she didn't technically know if it would work. But she figured war paint was war paint. "Come on, hat-boy, let's just get this over with."

"I can handle it myself-"

"You could," she interrupted, before leaving the argument at that.

When she gestured for him to sit back down, Kung Lao put his hands up in mock surrender before he graciously went back to where he had previously been seated. And Jade wasted no time in walking over to him before she knelt down on top of him- straddling his waist with her legs before she settled back onto his hips.

"I'm not a chair, you know," he started, although the look he gave her implied it as another tease, "- a little personal space would be nice too."

"Do you have something to say for everything I do?" Jade replied, as she removed her gloves and tossed them aside. She poured the oil into one palm before she set the bottle aside and rubbed the greasy-feeling liquid between both hands, coating them equally. It was only when she reached out to cup his jaw did he seem to speak up about her actions.

"You're just... gonna use your hands?" Kung Lao questioned, maybe hesitant at that.

"It'll be easier this way," she assured, as she cupped her hands against his jaw before she carefully ran her hands back and forth against him, slowly coating his skin with the oil now. When she continued to speak, she decided to tack on a less-than-subtle tease for him. "You're telling me you never fantasized about this?"

"Oh sure, Jade, all the time," he remarked, sarcastically at that, before he changed his tone. "Are you sure you're not supposed to be somewhere else? Kitana doesn't need you?"

"There's nowhere else I need to be other than right here," she replied, as she moved her hands up to cup his face now, "- unless you don't want me to be."

"I didn't say that," he assured.

"Then why are you talking?"

Tilting his head up towards her, Jade surveyed the extent to which his face was painted, before she started working on his cheeks- rubbing the oil in a thin layer for now. Kung Lao held still enough under her touch, allowing her to do her work without further complaints; and she was a little surprised to feel him slowly becoming relaxed in her hold- for now anyways.

Using only her thumbs, Jade gingerly coated the oil over his closed eyes, careful to work at the paint on his eyelids and eyebrows.

Already, she could see portions of the paint starting to come loose.

The oil would have to set and then be rinsed off before they could work on peeling the paint layers off, but it was good to see that it was already working- and _actually_ working for that matter.

She moved down to his neck and chest now.

Using the full weight of her palms across his collarbones and sternum, Jade worked through the thickest layer of paint- and worked to ease out any tension he still might've had in his muscles. She could see him grimacing from time to time, no doubt feeling the pressure of her bearing down against his chest; there was a lot more weight to her than most people assumed, which gave her an advantage when needed.

Keeping up with the same motions and weight, Jade worked circles around his shoulders and down his arms; she took one arm at a time in her hold, coating every inch of it as she circled her hands around him, eventually working her way down to his own hands.

And she tried not to make the enjoyment in running her fingers through his own seem all that evident- although she might've lingered on the motion for a little too long, especially given that his hands weren't really painted at all.

Not that he seemed to complain as he willingly allowed her to keep going.

"I have to say, Jade, it looks like you're enjoying this," Kung Lao teased once more, pointing the gesture out regardless.

And she should've figured that he would.

After how she had been a little rough with him before, all in good nature, and since she wouldn't let him do this himself, he was just looking to get under her skin about it now. All by pointing out that she might've possibly been enjoying the art of paying him back by taking care of the mess she had signed him up for.

And yet, so far, he had ignored the fact that she had opted to be settled here, amongst the pillows, to do most of the dirty work- when the tent did have its own washing corner for this very purpose.

"Well, it's not every day I get to go into the future just to rub my favorite monk down in oil," Jade replied.

"I hated every word you just said," he remarked, looking almost disgusted but not quite. "Then again, if you were to ask me a week ago what an Osh-Tekk was, I couldn't give you an answer- and yet, here I am, dressed up like one."

She pitied him with a laugh as she poured more oil into her hand and started against his ribs now. "This future thing is not really working out for us," she started, "but I guess it could be worse."

"I mean, technically it _is_ worse."

There was the whole Revenant business that she was purposely trying to avoid thinking about.

Which, in of itself, was a whole new drama.

Working her hands against his ribs, Jade moved down to his abdomen next- and felt the way he shuddered underneath her at the pressure, which she took pleasure in stirring up; if anything, just to feel him squirm under her touch. She ran her hands up and down against his torso, rubbing the extra oil in for good measure now and ensuring most of him was covered.

And also letting herself get a little re-acquainted with his body.

Kung Lao was in great shape, a given considering his lifelong Shaolin training. While he wasn't as built as some of the other fighters, given what he specialized in, it didn't matter; he only defined the body parts that he needed to- and everything else that firmed up was just an additional prize. He was built for agility and flexibility, which accented his teleportation abilities; Jade had seen him change direction mid-air, re-angling his body to remove his opponent's chance to strike- while also giving himself a better height of attack.

His upper body was built more for throwing as well, a given considering his favorite accessory, and weapon, to wear.

And while she had once poked fun at him about it, making remarks that a hat couldn't be that hard to throw, Kung Lao was always open for a demonstration. And come to find out, his signature hats weren't nearly as light as she had thought them to be- despite how easily he wielded them, how easily he threw it around and had it levitate mid-air.

Kung Lao had mentioned once that there was a hat he had made out of only metal, but that he was still training with it to get the weight distribution right.

Jade had made him promise her that he would show it to her when he was done.

And despite how current situations were going, time-wise and such, she found herself still holding out for the opportunity.

"I'm not gonna lie, this feels gross," Kung Lao started, carefully wiping some of the oil away from his eyes.

"It looks gross," Jade replied, as she leaned back and looked him over.

The oil made his skin look more glossy than greasy, although not by much, but it was beginning to smear and mix with the blue and yellow paint- causing the colors to somewhat streak as the oil beaded against his skin.

"If this doesn't work, I'm gonna be a little mad."

She could understand the sentiment.

"You think I'm just doing this for my own amusement?" she remarked.

"Yeah."

Okay, so she might not have liked just how fast he had been to answer her with that.

"You love to antagonize me, Jade," Kung Lao countered.

"Oh, you haven't seen antagonizing yet," she assured, "because I still need to get your legs, and you never told me how far up the paint goes."

"It goes up pretty far."

As she figured.

"Alright, well don't be surprised when my hands go up pretty far too then," Jade replied, as she started to dismount from his waist, only to then push her legs between his own and slide back until she was kneeling between his thighs instead. A bit of an easier move than she thought it would be- luckily her knee didn't plant itself anywhere sensitive.

"_Easy_, Jade," Kung Lao started, perhaps in protest, especially given how little coverage the weighed loincloth gave him.

And given how she had to push his legs out of the way, spreading his thighs in order to accommodate her, the new positioning didn't exactly give him much leeway either.

And her pouring more oil into her hands, only to then wrap them around one of his exposed thighs didn't exactly make a case for her on top of that- although in her defense, she _did_ warn him.

"I told you not to be surprised," Jade reminded, feeling the way he pulled slightly underneath her as she started to push her thumbs in against the muscle- massaging it while she had him in her hold anyways. "We need to get all of the paint off, don't we?"

"I thought you were kidding," he admitted.

"Have you ever heard me tell a joke around you?" she asked.

"Sure, when you said you liked Kitana's new outfit."

Jade snorted out a laugh before she could catch herself- and by then, it was too late to try and correct. "Okay, you got me there," she replied, as she leaned forward, putting a little more weight behind her hands now as she slid them underneath his loincloth. "Is this not antagonizing enough for you?"

"I think your intentions have gone a little beyond just antagonizing me," Kung Lao remarked, perhaps calling her out on her actions once more.

And while he might've been accurate in his call-out, Jade humored him with a look of mock shock as she leaned back now. "What? Are you accusing _me_, a loyal guard to the Outworld Princess, of having ulterior motives? I should kill you where you sit."

Her selling act was greeted by a laughing audience.

"_Oh_? Am I supposed to just forget about what we did in the koliseum after hours then?" he reminded with a grin.

"I was off the clock when that occurred," Jade insisted, "but last I checked, you didn't have any objections then, am I wrong to assume you wouldn't have any now?"

"I don't know, I mean, the whole being in the middle of a Tarkatan camp is a bit of an issue," Kung Lao started. "I don't exactly see them having the manners to knock if something peaks their interest- and I think the last thing either of us wants is for one of them to just walk in and see what's going on. Or even worse, Liu Kang will probably want to talk once he's done cleaning up as well, and he's on my case enough about how I act around you. Also, I'm still pretty disgusting."

Chuckling at his ramblings, Jade moved her hands to cup his face once more before she leaned in towards him, resting her forearms on his chest now. "While this might be the worst place we've encountered yet, the Tarkatans know better than to go where they've already been shooed from," she assured. "And... if Liu Kang is just as disgusting as you are, I'm sure he'll take just as long to get cleaned up- and besides, Kitana asked for him when he was done. And if those two are going to be busy with each other, where's the harm in us being the same?"

It didn't seem to take long for him to contemplate her persuasion.

Especially considering how she felt the weight of his arms wrapping around her waist as soon as she finished talking.

"You're a bad influence, you know that?" Kung Lao remarked.

"Oh, I'm counting on it."

Leaning into him, Jade felt the roughness of his lips, dried from the dirt and the heat, pressed firm against her own before they came apart under her guidance. The warmth of his mouth provided a welcoming sensation as she let her tongue fill him, hearing the subtle groan from his throat in response. It reminded her of how rare it was for them to meet like this, let alone have the proper time to engage.

And while she knew that timing was still of the essence, there were less risks here to be crossed than there were at the Tournament.

Jade let her body fall against him as she moved a hand to tangle in his already loose hair- and she toyed with the idea of pulling on it just to tilt his head back. For her own advantage, of course.

His hands brushed across her back as Kung Lao held her in against him; his fingers curling into the thin material of her bodysuit.

As gross as it might've been, Jade could already feel her clothing getting soaked by the odd combination of oil and paint- and felt how it was cold against her skin as it slowly sank through. It did little to deter her though as she felt the way his hands began to roam over her now, kneading at her back and squeezing at her hips. He always liked to explore, always liked to run his hands over every inch of skin and body that he could; which always lead her to believe that his hands got him into more trouble than his mouth ever did.

Despite the heat outside, she still found herself drawn to the heat of his body, feeling the warmth of his skin as she moved one hand to rest against his chest now. She could feel every subtle movement of his body underneath hers- even the quiet groans that purred in his chest, urged on by the motions of her tongue between his lips.

Kung Lao moved his hands so his fingers could stroke through her hair, pulling a few loose strands away from her face and brushing them behind her ears. And she hardly cared about the fact that his hands were equally coated in oil, which only helped to spread the mess between them.

Pulling away for air, Jade moved to brush her lips against the corner of his before she kissed at his jaw.

"What do you say I repeat what I did for you in the koliseum during those after hours?" she teased, as she slowly circled her hand over his chest.

"Depends on which part," Kung Lao replied, as he continued to run his fingers through her hair. "- Because you did a _lot_ of things in that koliseum."

She gently tugged at his hair and heard him laugh in response. "Maybe I should just let you find out which part I'm referring to then," Jade mused, as the hand she had resting on his chest slowly dragged down along his ribs and abdomen once more. She kept kissing at his jaw and neck, letting him ease back under her touch as her hand eventually curled against his left thigh.

She dragged her fingertips up and down along the length of his thigh, getting him used to the touch before she slowly pushed her hand underneath his loincloth- and further still. This time she felt where the roughness of the paint ended at the junction of his hip, which meant that there was truth in him mentioning that the paint _did_ go up pretty far.

But Jade decided to ignore it for now, despite it having been a part of her antagonizing gesture- and instead guided her hand between his legs.

And when she wrapped her fingers around his cock, she wasn't surprised to find him already hard.

She heard him groan at the touch and felt him shift underneath her before she slowly started to stroke him; she could feel how the oil residue on her own hand made each stroke smooth and seamless.

"I remember this part now," Kung Lao remarked.

"I would hope so," Jade replied, as she moved back to brush her lips against his own. "Now, if you could give me a hand with this clothing, I'm sure you'd appreciate it."

He chuckled and pulled her into a kiss with one hand tangled in her braid, while his other hand moved to dismantle the tied cloth around his waist. Which was a task that took him longer than she thought it would to do, but considering he only had one hand available to use, she couldn't complain. And once he was finished, Kung Lao pushed it aside for her.

The freedom without the weighted cloth made it easier for her hand to take him in full strokes now; she felt the way his cock twitched in her grasp as she let the pads of her fingers rub against the tip of it mid-stroke. Jade carefully readjusted herself against him, and readjusted him as well, moving so that she had his cock pressed between them- and she used the subtle sandwiching position to her advantage.

"You know, this doesn't have to be the only thing I repeat," she mused, loosely kissing him between every other word. "You were right about there being a lot of _other_ things too."

"Depends on which one," Kung Lao teased, as he moved a hand to the armored plate just under her breasts and pulled it loose before he removed it completely. "Because I don't think some of those could be repeated- not here at least."

"Ye of little faith," Jade replied, as she leaned in to kiss him once more.

While he kept one hand tangled in her hair, she felt the way his other hand moved to squeeze at her breast, groping it through the wet fabric of her bodysuit. And she moaned softly at the pressing squeeze of his fingers, feeling the way her breast filled his palm all too easily. She felt the way his fingers rolled over her nipple, rubbing it through the soaked fabric, and bringing attention to the way it was firm underneath his touch now.

Jade gently rocked herself against him, stroking him with her fingers while also rubbing against him with her stomach. It was a subtle shift in weight, but she heard the quiet groan that escaped him in response, she felt the hot exhales against her cheek.

Freeing her hand from his hair, Jade pressed it against the pillows behind him and pushed herself back; not far enough to disrupt anything, but just enough for her to watch him. Kung Lao kept his head tilted back now; his eyes were half-closed as he seemed lulled and taken in by her stroking. She could hear the long breaths that escaped him, subtle and slow for now.

She leaned in and pressed small kisses against his cheek and jaw, feeling how he leaned into each one.

She kissed at the corner of his lips and felt the way they started to part as Kung Lao turned his head to greet her- only for her to pull away at the last minute. Jade teased him a few more times with the attempted kiss before she eventually relented and let him have it. And he kissed her sweet and warm; his hand moved from her braid to cup the back of her head as he pulled her in.

Jade got swept up in the working of his tongue, in the continuous rubbing and squeezing against her breast.

She didn't exactly feel the hand at her head move down along her back, nor did she feel the way his fingers pulled away at the lift of her hips.

But she did hear herself gasp when she felt his hand grab her between the legs from behind.

And it was with that gesture that brought awareness to the throbbing ache where his fingers now rested; that brought attention to the insistent heat that was pooling in her belly- that made her realize just how wet she was now. And now that her mind was flooded with the sensations she had been turning a blind eye to, Jade couldn't pull herself away from them.

Pulling back, she watched as Kung Lao opened his eyes to look at her and then watched as his eyes dropped down to follow the curve of her body against his own.

And she felt a sudden throb between her legs in response.

"Your clothes," Kung Lao started.

With just two words, Jade found herself aware of just how sticky her bodysuit was against her skin now.

"- Uh, are those stains going to come out?"

Not where she _thought_ he was going with that.

But it did give her an opening.

"Why don't we get them off first- and find out the rest later," Jade offered.

"I won't argue that."

Jade chuckled and pushed herself back onto her knees before she moved both of her hands to the back of her neck. Fingers quickly unlatched the holding clip at the collar of her bodysuit, allowing her to work the thin zipper down along her back; she had to move her arms under her shoulders in order to get the zipper down to her hips next.

Tugging at the front of her suit, she broke the suction between the wet material and her skin, before she peeled it off of her shoulders and worked her arms free.

There was some relief to be taken as she pushed the damp fabric off of her breasts and bundled it down around her waist.

For once, the humid Outworld air felt good against her skin.

Jade could feel Kung Lao's eyes on her, watching her every move.

And it brought a grin to her lips.

With some careful maneuvering, once more with her watching her knee placement, Jade turned around and leaned back against his chest again. She pushed the bundled remains of her bodysuit from her hips and felt his hands join in with assisting her now.

They both worked her discarded clothing down to her knees before she managed to shimmy it the rest of the way down- and was eventually able to just kick the bodysuit completely off.

It was hard to deny how every movement only seemed to bring attention to the warmth spilling out between her legs; she could feel her own arousal coating her thighs now, bringing an unbearable sense of heat between them.

Jade felt his arms move around her ribs before she had the chance to flip back over, pulling her back down against him.

Kung Lao brushed his palms up along her chest before he grabbed at her breasts again, squeezing them in his hold once more. And Jade felt herself push down against him; she heard herself moaning softly at the way his fingers rolled over her nipples now- bringing out the sensitivity they had now.

She felt his mouth at the curve of her neck.

She felt the heat of his breath, the warmth of his tongue against her skin.

And she let herself be taken in by the motions, in the returned gestures as he kissed at her neck and shoulders; Kung Lao was careful not to leave behind any marks in any visible areas, a lesson well-learned by this point. She let herself focus on his hands, on how they circled her breasts and kept them firm in his hold- squeezing them from the bottom and pushing them up.

Jade felt him squeeze her breasts one time more before he pulled his hands away.

Before Kung Lao moved his left hand to her right breast, keeping his arm crossed over her ribs, while his other hand moved to her chin and tilted her head back towards him- allowing him to kiss more easily at her neck. And she moaned softly with the change, now feeling his fingers trail down the curve of her throat before they skimmed down along her body.

Fingertips brushed against her ribs, against her abdomen, down along the curve between her hips before they pushed down between her legs.

The touch of his fingers against her clit was enough to cause her hips to jolt as Jade pushed them down against his own. She felt the brushing motion Kung Lao made over the sensitive organ, drawing out a few kicks from her legs before he pushed his fingers between her folds. And there was no denying the slick sensation of his fingers as they pushed between her labia, easily coating themselves in her arousal as he explored her.

She shivered with each stroke, feeling the way his fingers kept coming back to her clit in teasing circles.

Jade could understand his hesitation now with going through with this.

This wasn't exactly the greatest position to be in if someone were to walk in right now.

But the thought wasn't enough to unclench her hands from the pillows underneath her as she felt his fingers bearing down against her clit now, making purposeful circles against it- working her up until she was pushing her hips into each rolling touch.

She supposed it was well-deserved considering how she had been teasing him this whole time.

Jade moved a hand to take his own before she pulled his fingers away- and even though _she_ made the motion, she still felt the mild disappointment that came with the loss of touch.

But it made it easier for her to push herself up, to roll herself over to greet him, to pull him into a kiss- to feel the way they both went into the embrace a little headstrong.

She moved to straddle herself over his waist once more, finding it almost difficult to control her legs as she fumbled through the position. Every part of her wanted him, and that desire to do so made the rest of her body struggle to keep up; she already wanted to be there but she had yet to get there first.

Moving a hand between them, Jade wrapped her fingers around his cock once more; this time it was to keep him steady as she slowly brought her hips down on top of him.

And the groan that rolled from his throat was muffled by her lips as she carefully settled herself onto him, taking him all in one on-going motion.

Jade moved her hands to cup his face and held him in her hold as she slowly rocked her hips on top of him, giving herself time to get use to him again. It hadn't been that long since he was last inside of her, but with the stress of the ongoing situations around them, she didn't want to make a blind assumption. Lest they both feel the strain of it.

Any chance Kung Lao had to say something was momentarily gone as she let her tongue fill his mouth.

But Jade could hear the quiet moaning from his throat as she rocked on top of him.

And when she did pull away, she heard him pull in a sharp breath immediately afterwards.

"Fuck-" Kung Lao whispered, his hands moving to her waist before he pulled her in.

"That's what I like to hear," Jade teased, as she rocked her body up and down his own, sliding herself on his cock. She kissed at his jaw as her hands pushed his head back, her fingers tangling in his hair again. "Just enjoy yourself."

"Oh believe me, I am."

Kung Lao kept her hips in his hold as he began to thrust into her, matching her motions with his own; and she felt the subtle bouncing of her hips with each thrust, feeling how quick he was to pick up on her rhythm. And once they were in time with each other, he moved his hands to curl against her back, holding her in against him as she continued to kiss his jaw and neck.

It felt good to be on top of him, to feel the way he was underneath her.

Vulnerable and relaxed.

In a place and time where everyone seemed to be stabbing each other in the back, it felt rare to have someone you could drop your guard around.

Jade felt his hands move between them as he cupped them against her face and pulled her into another kiss; she felt the heat of his mouth, the warmth of his tongue all over again, and drank it all in. It didn't take long before Kung Lao moved his hands again, moving them to her back again, as he dropped his lips from her own and down to her neck.

And then to her collarbones, to the flat of her sternum, before he pulled her in and brought his lips to one of her breasts.

And she moaned as she felt his lips wrap around her nipple, as Jade felt his hand settle against the middle of her back before Kung Lao pushed her down against him. She closed her eyes and took him in through her senses as she moved her hands to rest above his shoulders, feeling the warmth of his mouth as he suckled on her. His other hand moved to grope her unattended breast, squeezing it once more before his fingers moved to roll and pinch her nipple- keeping the attention fair.

But he kept his focus moving, switching between her breasts and scattering a few kisses in-between; he kissed at her sternum, at her collarbones, before going back to her nipples. And with each turn, she pushed herself against him, encouraging the motions of his tongue and mouth.

Kung Lao moved his hands again, this time back to her hips as he pushed them down against him and held her there before he pulled her off- completely removing himself from her as he did so.

Before Jade could protest, she felt him seamlessly roll her onto her back as he moved on top of her; a motion that only took seconds to do. But there was a further delay as he grabbed one of the loose pillows and pushed it under her hips, elevating her position and making it easier for him to slip back inside of her. She found herself almost stammering at the returned heat of him inside of her, at the feeling of him moving against her once more. She felt the rolling weight of his hips on top of her own as she moved her hands to curl against his chest now.

"Right there-" Jade started, feeling his cock rocking back and forth inside of her, "- just like that."

She usually liked to take charge and keep things under control, something he always seemed content with.

But Jade wasn't opposed to switching commands- and even she had to admit that there was something about him taking charge, especially when it was unsuspected; a sort of soft taken coup. It came with the benefit of being able to feel the muscles in his body flexing with each motion, with each thrust; it came with the benefit of being able to see and watch the muscles in his shoulders and arms strain.

She moved her legs to hook over his thighs, rocking against him with each thrust as she traced her heels against his calves.

And she got caught up in the show, in the lull of every motion shared between them, that she only felt his hand move between them when Kung Lao used his thumb to rub against her clit. And once more, she felt herself jump in response; she felt her hips lift into his own as she heard herself gasp at the heated sensations that were spurred by his sudden touch.

"Keep going," Jade murmured, rocking her hips against his hand now, "I'm so close, keep going."

Kung Lao tucked his head into the curve of her neck, breathing her in before he kissed at her skin again.

She moved her hands under his arms and curled her fingers into his back as she held him down against her.

Jade knew he was close and when he moved to pull out of her, she used her legs to hold him to her- and maybe it was the sudden pressure of her legs squeezing the back of his thighs, but she felt the jerk of his hips as he came soon after. And she continued to rock against him, riding him through the finish and hearing him gasping between each thrust.

But his fingers were just as persistent as she was.

And when she came under his influence, her body tightening around him, she continued to ride him- just barely able to muffle herself in the curve of his shoulder as she threatened to bring attention to what they were doing.

Eventually the thrusting slowed to a stop and the two of them laid there in a moment of stillness, panting and breathing into one another to make sure the last of the noises in their throats were gone.

It was the heat and the sweat that inevitably pushed them apart.

The air inside of the tent felt sweltering now and she was almost convinced the dotted spots of white in her vision were from the heat.

"Well," Jade started, going through the last few recovering breaths as she fanned herself with one hand, "how are you feeling now?"

Kung Lao gave a breathless sort of laugh in return as he moved a hand to wipe the sweat from his face; his skin was flushed red underneath the mess of dripping paint and oil. "Honestly, I'm really itchy right now."

She laughed and moved to pat her hands against his chest- and regretted the motion as she felt the congealed mess squish between her fingers now. "I guess we could finish what we started then," she remarked, as she felt him pull away and felt the way he carefully pulled himself out of her- leaving her with a quiet groan in her throat as he did.

There was a subtle ache left behind in the aftermath; a subtle reminder of what had just gone on between them.

She watched as Kung Lao moved to her left before he dropped back against the pillows next to her, his hands moving to push his hair out of his face. And for the moment, she enjoyed the easy way he rested, the easy way he laid limp at her side- worn out from a few too many activities for one day.

"I guess we probably should."


	3. Chapter 3

Despite agreeing to finishing what they started, they both still took the downtime to rest and cool off.

To let the sweat finish rolling across their skin.

In the subtle lull of the aftermath, in the hum of the heat, Jade found herself dozing off- momentarily at least, as she was soon startled awake by the sound of a few Tarkatans moving around outside the tent. And despite knowing that none of them would so much as chance entering the tent, the noises alone were enough to spur her to wake up a little quicker.

Jade supposed she didn't realize just how exhausted she was until then.

Avoiding the obvious, it wasn't like she had been sleeping that well during the night- at least, not as well as she thought she was. Which wasn't good given their situation, given what they would soon be going up against.

And yet, despite the dangers, Jade still managed to find herself curled up next to him.

As comfortable as the setting was, however, it couldn't last forever.

While the two of them might've felt alone together, and while they were free to be naked in the comfort of their own space, if someone _were_ to work in, they would both be hard-pressed to explain what was going on. Especially amidst the rush and panic of trying to put their clothing back on. And by that point, an explanation wouldn't really be necessary- although they would certainly be grilled about it still.

Once more, this wasn't exactly the time nor place, nor situation, to be getting these kinds of activities and emotions out of their systems.

Pushing herself up, Jade stretched as soon as she got to her feet, standing up on her toes to get the most out of the full-body pull; she felt relief in the long pull of the muscles in her back, the same ones left partly cramped by her previous position. Once satisfied with the sore, loose feeling left behind, she reached down to get rid of her boots and kick them aside.

This wasn't the first time she had kept them on while she was fooling around with someone, but it was definitely a habit she needed to break.

Especially given how itchy her legs had gotten due to the sweat that had pooled inside of her boots.

"Alright, let's try to be serious about this now," Jade offered, as she moved to pick up the same bucket of water from before, picking it up from where Kung Lao must've moved it out of the way earlier.

While technically the water was a little dirty from their earlier scrubbing, she figured it was still good enough to use- especially considering the job that was awaiting them.

There were some half-full water barrels at the back of the tent that they could use to freshen the bucket with anyways, which they would more than likely need to take advantage of.

When she turned to watch Kung Lao get to his feet as well, Jade snorted back a laugh as she watched him practically sling off a handful of oil that had been running down his chest.

"For _your_ sake at least," Jade tagged on.

"You're telling me."

The two of them moved to the stone blocks at the back of the tent and sat down again. The smoothed stone of the designated washing area felt cool against her warm skin, and part of her almost wished they had started here to begin with. But then again, the image of him pinned against the pillows underneath her was something she'd keep around to keep her sane in these trying times.

"This is the last time I ever paint myself," Kung Lao remarked, as he scratched at the back of his neck and shoulder.

"Well hopefully this will be the last time we need to," Jade reminded, as she moved to settle on her knees to try and assess the damage of oil and paint. She humored the thought of just dumping the water bucket over him instead- if anything to just wash him off quicker. "I can't say that it's a good look on you."

"It's not," he agreed, "- and I look good in most things."

Plucking the soaked rag from the bottom of the bucket, Jade barely wrung it out before she worked to get his face cleaned off first. And for now, Kung Lao didn't fight her on the motion, seeming more desperate to just have the paint and oil washed off regardless of how it was done.

In which case, he got lucky.

She didn't have to put much work into getting the layers to peel off; after just two scrubs, she could already see his skin peeking out from underneath the mess. She still needed to be careful though, to ensure that the thick mixture didn't roll into his eyes.

And when Jade finally got his face cleared up, she was surprised to see a black ring around his right eye and a settling bruise against a portion of his jaw.

"What happened here?" Jade questioned, dropping the rag back into the water as she moved to cup her hands against his face now, tilting his head in towards her to get a better look at the injuries. There was minimal swelling around his eye, which was probably how she missed it to begin with- which meant that his black eye was on the healing end of its cycle.

"This?" Kung Lao queried, as he moved to touch at the black ring. "Yeah, we had to do practice matches with the other Osh-Tekk during the morning- and sometimes during the evening if things were slow. And since we couldn't risk standing out or blowing our cover, we had to let them get in a few hits here and there."

Jade didn't consider that the Osh-Tekk would train with one another, much like most armies did- Tarkatan included.

The two Shaolin had to have been thinking on their feet the entire time they were undercover.

They had to make split-second decisions or risk outing themselves.

"So you had to go easy on them then, huh?" Jade teased, as she tilted his head back now to get a better look at the bruise on his jaw. It looked fresher than the black eye did, and considering that it seemed like it was still forming under his skin, there was a good chance he had gotten it just that morning.

"Yeah, I had to let them win a few so it seemed more consistent," he laughed, brushing her hands aside for now. "I got a couple more so don't be surprised when you see them. Nothing's broken though, just got a couple of scrapes and bruises luckily."

Lucky was certainly a word to use.

Jade continued on with washing him off, watching as the paint slid off of his shoulders and chest now- and true to his word, there was more bruising underneath it. Not as much as she expected there to be, but enough. She worked on his arms and hands next, surprised once more that he seemed more willing to let her do what she needed to without arguing.

Not that she would let him deny her anyways.

Given their current predicament, this was still the least that she could do- irregardless of what he thought.

Besides, there was just something about the situation that was amusing to her.

There was something about how Kung Lao acted; how he felt soft and vulnerable in her hands now, easily dropping his guard around her despite having pulled off a difficult feat only hours before. There was this sense that he wasn't afraid to drop everything while she was around- even though he initially had some objections to it; but that was more because he didn't want her to feel like it was an obligation.

But even after that hurdle, he had allowed her to run her hands over him, and had let her feel the different parts of his body without reservation, which alone seemed to speak volumes of how he trusted her.

And she remembered that hint of concern he had expression when he brought up Kotal earlier.

Kung Lao had tried to hide it, not wanting her to think that he didn't believe she could watch out for herself- but also feeling the need to let her know about it regardless. For mental preparation at least, should she and Kotal cross paths, which by this point was only inevitable.

Jade wondered if he had felt that same way with what Kotal had said about her.

If he felt the need to protect her himself if it came down to it, even if it wasn't his fight to bear.

It all came down to the fact that she felt safe with him.

And on the same coin, Kung Lao felt safe with her; even despite the Osh-Tekk ordeal he had just finished, despite having spent a week on guard, day-in and day-out, hoping not to blow a sensitive cover. Despite him now being in the middle of a Tarkatan camp, which alone was a lot to ask from him given the Shaolin's experience with Tarkatans. And even greater, despite the whole ordeal revolving around Kronika and the stake of their timeline.

It took a lot of effort for someone to be unguarded after all of that.

In the grand scheme of things, Jade supposed the two of them hadn't really known each other for that long- not long enough to be at this stage anyways. And given everything going on, the revelation about Shao Kahn, about Edenia, it felt like she didn't really know who she was anymore; her life from before was crippled and the life in front of her was even more broken.

And yet, despite all of this, he still had this deep-seated trust in her.

And she in him.

Jade watched as blue and yellow paint finally gave away completely to his pale skin underneath; a welcoming sight for the both of them, no doubt.

On top of the added bruising, however, Jade could see patches of red where the paint had started to wear away; a sign that his Earthrealm skin had been rendered sensitive and damaged under the Outworld sun.

Yet another color to take care of.

Still, despite such, with all of the paint gone, it was a complete turnaround in appearance.

He looked much better without all of it- and he seemed to feel better without it as well.

"Look at you," Jade mused, as she patted a hand against his face. "You're back to being a pretty Earthrealm boy again."

"It feels good," Kung Lao remarked, as he rubbed his hands against his face now- no doubt glad that the dried out paint was finally gone.

Getting back to her feet, Jade picked up the bucket and poured the paint-contaminated water down the hole dug out behind them; the mixture almost looked like sludge with how the water and oil remained separated from one another. Once the bucket was empty, she walked over to one of the water barrels nearby and plucked the wooden lid off; she refilled her supply with clean water, thankful that the Tarkatans were adamant about keeping plenty of water around the camp- especially in the tents.

"Oh, are we not done?" he asked.

Jade clicked her tongue in response as she replaced the wooden lid. "Does it look like you're done?"

"... Yes."

The hesitant answer garnered a chuckle from her before she walked back over to him- and poured half of the bucket over his head.

"Jade!"

"You looked like you could use a shower," she offered in jest as she stepped around him and knelt back down at his side. "And no, we're not done yet."

"I mean, I _did_\- but a little heads up would've been nice," Kung Lao remarked, as he wiped the excess water from his face before he pushed his now wet hair back with his hands. "Honestly, I should've expected that, especially from you, Jade."

She laughed at the pointed remark before she reached over to move her hands through his drenched hair, taking it from his hold now. "Come on, let me finish with my work here- and you just sit back and enjoy yourself."

"What are you doing to do?"

"The paint is off but that was only just the beginning," Jade started. "Your hair is pretty damaged from the heat, you know, and if we don't take care of it now, it'll get brittle. Unfortunately, your skin is pretty dried out too- and sunburned at that; it'll start peeling if we don't take care of it." She didn't think to bring a lotion or anything with her, although she did have some in her tent that she could use; she also had the supplies to mix something up if needed. "This isn't how you looked when you arrived in Outworld, so it wouldn't be fair to send you back to Earthrealm looking like this."

Although she had a feeling she'd be sending him back looking better than how he did before regardless.

"That's really not necessary, Jade," he replied. "You've done enough already- well, _more_ than enough- there's no debt to pay between us. I came out here on Earthrealm's behalf as well, so I'm just as guilty for looking like this."

For a monk, he was stubborn- more so than most people would assume.

And by this point, she should just toss in the towel and let him be as he wanted; unfortunately, she was just as stubborn as he was.

And she wouldn't accept the excuse of him coming out here and dressing up as an Osh-Tekk on Earthrealm's behalf. He came out to offer his assistance; it was her and Kitana's idea to have them dress up and act as Osh-Tekk- which rendered his argument null.

"In fairness, this did start off with me wanting to pay you back for what you had to deal with- Osh-Tekk wise," Jade started, as she settled back onto her legs now, although she continued to run her fingers through his hair. "There's just a lot going on right now and I have a lot of things on my mind too- most of which I'm trying to ignore, because I don't even want to think about them. But this- _this_ is something I can control; this is something that I can start and finish. And right now, that's all I want to do. I just want to finish something and have it end how I want it to. For the first time in my life, there is no higher power to answer to- and yet that freedom was snuffed out the moment I got it. And now there's the threat that everything will start over and I'll have to re-life this life again and again, all because someone else isn't satisfied with how it's going."

Jade paused and questioned herself on where the words had suddenly come from.

And wondered why they had felt the need to come up right now.

But if she was going to say them out loud for anyone else to hear, it might as well be him.

It wasn't like she was wrong about herself or her actions either.

It was so easy to feel like things were out of her control, that no matter what she did, her actions would hold no power over anyone or anything; that they wouldn't constitute the energy wasted on them. But she knew that was a dark path to go down- and if she didn't catch herself before the descend, then she would just be making things more difficult for everyone else.

And things were difficult enough as they were.

"I just want something simple to do, something I know how to do," Jade finished. "And if it involves me just... washing your hair, than so be it. It's something."

Kung Lao was quiet in the aftermath of her words, seemingly taking them in at his own pace.

Then again, she had definitely said more than she had bargained for.

She had also might've implied that he was simple and easy to do- and that he was something she knew _how_ to do.

[Both of which weren't wrong.]

"Alright, alright, as long as that's your reasoning then let's go for it," Kung Lao finally spoke as he leaned back now, moving one arm back to support himself on. "You can give me the full spa treatment if you want."

Jade chuckled, knowing well that he would cave to her- but not without getting in one more jab on her. "I wouldn't call it that, but it's better than just letting you go around looking like this," she remarked, as she shifted back onto her knees and leaned into him, carefully wringing the water out from his hair now. She tried not to pull on it too much, but she also knew he wouldn't complain if she did. "And I have no doubts that it's better than whatever you would do."

"I resent that."

"Be mad about it then."

Jade made him sit still as she worked her fingers through his hair, admiring the black strands as she carefully smoothed them back; it was obvious he took care of his hair, even despite the mild damage done to it. She had grabbed a bottle of a homemade conditioner and tossed it in with the oil when she had been throwing things together earlier, just putting together things she thought he might want or need. And she was glad she had had the foresight to do so, as she carefully massaged the concoction into his hair.

Sitting around the Tarkatan camp for a week, waiting for information or for a box with body parts in it, had left her with plenty of time on her hands- especially once she no longer wanted to think about the whole Kronika issue. With the supplies littered around in the Outworld wild-lands, Jade had taken to resuming her old apothecary studies; mostly for her own needs, considering their extended stay in this timeline.

Although she didn't mind sharing the finished products with Kitana- or Mileena either, for that matter.

[That was still a strange conception to her.]

She certainly saw no harm in using them on him as well.

"This isn't burning, is it?" Jade questioned.

"I do not like that question," Kung Lao replied.

"Well you haven't said anything yet, so I'll take your silence as an answer," she remarked, as she lathered his hair and worked her fingers against his scalp- feeling the way he immediately fell in with her motions. "We have time to kill while I'm doing this, you know. And I'm sure you have plenty of interesting stories to share about your time with the Osh-Tekk- preferably some that don't involve Kotal."

She was curious about his time spent in the camps of an enemy she didn't recognize.

But she also didn't like the dead air going on between them.

Kung Lao wasn't often one to be quiet, and yet he was.

"I mean, not really, we just did whatever everyone else did," Kung Lao answered, "- and did it well enough so that we didn't end up crucified in the desert somewhere."

"I'm so glad you decided to share that mental image with me," Jade noted, as she finished with his hair for the time being; the concoction worked best when it was able to sit and soak in. "We're going to let that sit for a minute, so try not to touch it," she started, as she settled back on her legs once more. "Now come on, you were gone for a week, you have to have at least _one_ story about what you did over there."

"Okay, okay, let me think- oh, I almost blew our cover with one of the hunting parties," he offered, as he moved to scratch at the back of his head as soon as she pulled her own hands away. "Wait, what was it you said not to touch?"

She wasn't even surprised.

"What happened with the hunting party?" Jade questioned instead.

"Well, like two days in, we get picked to go out with one of the hunting parties, and we end up having to take down this... dinosaur-looking thing, I don't really know what it was," Kung Lao started, as he moved to lean back onto both of his arms now- looking genuinely relaxed for what it was worth. "Anyways, I managed to knock it down but I decided to just let the other guys deal with it because I didn't know what the routine was- and I didn't want to make an assumption and blow the whole undercover thing up. Turns out they just cut the thing open, field-dressing style, which is easy enough to do."

"I didn't think that was something you monks were taught," Jade noted.

"It's not; Li Mei showed me once- even though I didn't ask her to," he remarked. "Anyways, because I got the last hit on the damn thing, the other Osh-Tekk offered for me to kill the thing- which their method of doing so is to eat the heart while it's still beating. And unfortunately, it wasn't exactly something that I could back out of. Apparently the Osh-Tekk are very serious about giving the killing blow to the person who deserves it; and if you take a kill out of line, you'll start some real shit with them. And the whole situation was about as unpleasant as you could imagine it being."

Jade had witnessed plenty of disgusting behavior regarding food and hunting parties- namely with the Tarkatans.

But the Osh-Tekk's obsession with eating the hearts was a bit much to incorporate when hunting.

"Those creatures are a delicacy around here, you know," Jade commented, as she leaned onto one arm herself- making herself comfortable. She knew well enough about the creature he described; she had seen them plenty enough in the koliseum- and she knew that they made for good war mounts. "They're hard to come by and even harder to take down, let alone eat while it's still kicking."

Again, the thought alone would've made her shudder if she wasn't currently sitting in a Tarkatan camp.

She had seen their feasting habits far too many times to be caught off-guard by now.

"Outworld can keep its delicacies," Kung Lao replied.

"You didn't even enjoy it after you were the one to kill it?" Jade questioned. "The meat on the back makes for a good roast, you know."

"Jade, this might come as a surprise to you, but I don't eat meat- I never have."

In actuality, it did come as a surprise to her.

Then again, she supposed she had never really seen him eat anything around her either; they had gone drinking a few times before but that was about it. Although they had once talked about sneaking out on a date after hours- or when Liu Kang and Kitana weren't around and wouldn't be around to ask for them.

It never happened though, or at least, it had yet to.

If that was the case then, she could understand his dilemma.

"It's funny to look back on it now, because I know I didn't get killed through some other fuck-up, but I did spend most of that night puking- and thankfully no one caught me doing that," he continued. "I mean, I also don't know if the Osh-Tekk really would've done anything about it, but after spending some time around them, I definitely would've stuck out."

It would've been like trying to infiltrate a Tarkatan camp and turning down a severed leg that was offered.

Of course, Jade had already been offered several severed human limbs by now, through Tarkatan courtesy, but thankfully none of them even batted an eye when she turned the offers down. In fact, the tribe cook was at least considerate enough to offer her some smoked meats from some slain wild dogs instead; the Tarkatan had even showed her which smoked carcass the meat had been cut from- just in case she thought he might be lying to her.

And unfortunately, the smoked meat turned out to be really good.

Jade had had a taste of most Outworld creatures by this point, with the palace kitchen always finding new things to slaughter and cook for the Emperor- but having those same meats be cooked and served by a known cannibal species just made everything feel... questionable.

"Well look at you now, you survived it," Jade teased, as she moved a hand to brush against his shoulder. "As bad as it sounds, I'm glad it was you and not me doing all of this undercover stuff; I would've stuck out for sure- and that's before any of the hunting business."

The comment was enough to make him laugh, if only to look slightly guilty about it afterwards.

"It wasn't all bad," Kung Lao assured. "I mean, we didn't have to stay in a Tarkatan camp, so that's one thing."

"Hm, good point," she mused. "It hasn't exactly been roses here either."

"I could imagine," he remarked, before he turned to face her now. "Here, you've done enough for me. Why don't you let me take over for a minute? And you can catch me up on what's been going on around here."

A pretty sudden turning point but she figured she could humor him with the request.

"You're still pretty dirty yourself," Kung Lao noted.

Ah, that was true.

She was still pretty much slathered in the same oil and paint mixture herself- not nearly as bad as he had been though. But considering how he had ran his hands pretty liberally over her before, there was probably more of the mixture coating her than she was assuming.

"I suppose I could give you the honor," Jade teased, before she pushed the water bucket towards him. "Well, I can tell you that living a week in a Tarkatan camp is about as exciting as you think it would be."

"I don't know if I'd use the word exciting," he replied, as he grabbed the rag from the water and carefully wrung it out. "But you haven't been turned into someone's lunch, so there's that."

Kung Lao started with her neck first and Jade felt the careful way he washed her skin; tedious almost, as he made sure to get every bit of oil and paint off in one go. He kept his touch light though, as if cautious that he might offend her with a more bearing touch- as though they hadn't just been going at it a few minutes before. But she supposed circumstances dictated behavior, although he should know well enough that she didn't mind by now.

"I'll admit, you only have to tell a Tarkatan something once and they listen," Jade spoke. "I'm actually surprised at how organized they are now; they're more systematic than when they followed Shao Kahn. Believe it or not, I think it's because of Mileena; they listen to her more than they ever listened to Shao Kahn- then again, they always seemed to prefer her over him."

"Can't blame them," Kung Lao remarked, as he moved a hand to cup against her jaw; he carefully tilted her head to one side to get the back of her neck. "I would say I had forgotten about Mileena, but Kotal kept mentioning her as well. Is it... weird for you and Kitana?"

"That's a start," she replied, feeling him move to work on her shoulders next. "Out of all of us at the Tournament, Mileena was the only one who survived the whole downfall. She took Shao Kahn's throne and his armies; she rules over Outworld- she even sits at the same table as Queen Sheeva. And you want to know what the most damning part of this is? She knows more about Edenia than either Kitana or I do. Mileena's actually spoken with the Edenian Resistance- people who actually lived in Edenia before Shao Kahn destroyed it. I mean, how- how is that fair?"

Jade felt an odd tightness in her throat as she spoke.

She wasn't sure why it was there, but then again it wasn't like she had had a chance to speak about this before. They all had more important things to worry about and Kitana had enough on her plate to think on; Jade didn't want to stress the woman further by reminding her that Mileena was the one living the life that Kitana could only dream about.

"The Edenian Resistance?" Kung Lao repeated. "How'd she even find them?"

That had been the first question Jade had asked Mileena about as well.

Shao Kahn had gone out of his way to destroy everything about Edenia, realm and all- and he was never one to let even one person escape his massacre. Jade knew that once Edenia had been merged with Outworld, the Emperor had to have gone on a killing spree on those few Edenians who had survived the initial invasion. Upon learning the truth themselves, she was under the impression that she and Kitana were the only ones left.

And yet apparently there was an entire faction of Edenians who remained, who went undercover to remain hidden from the Emperor.

And where Shao Kahn had failed to locate the resistance, Mileena had succeeded.

Jade felt him move to wash her arms next- and noted that he took extra time with cleaning her hands, although she was pretty certain he was just looking for an excuse to hold them for a little while.

"Mileena has contacts with Tanya and Rain, both of whom worked under Shao Kahn as well. Tanya was a tactician and consultant; Rain was one of his Generals," Jade explained, realizing now that Kung Lao would have no insight on how the Emperor's council worked or who was on it. "Apparently they were both raised within the Edenian Resistance, but somewhere along the way they were forced to work for Shao Kahn. I don't know the details but Mileena said they were both given the choice of serving Shao Kahn or dying at his hand. But now they're both working with her and they're trying to bring Edenia back."

"Can they do that?" Kung Lao questioned.

"Apparently they can," Jade nodded. "All they need is the orb that contains Edenia's full essence, which Mileena knows where it's at- but because of the civil war going on right now, she can't risk it."

Jade felt his his hand drop to her chest now and felt the way he carefully cleaned the sweat from her breasts.

"And the civil war is being lead by the creep who used to be obsessed with me- and apparently still is," she finished, temporarily anyways. She moved a hand to his own and guided him for a moment, urging him to use more weight behind his actions- which he quickly picked up on. "It's just... I've lived in Outworld my whole life- and yet, I'm an Edenian. I never even heard of the realm until a week ago and yet, that's where I came from, that's where my lineage started. And now I'm here, in the future, where I'm dead but Edenia is on the verge of coming back- and I'm going to miss it."

Kung Lao paused now, clearly a little more invested in what she was saying now.

"I still don't know how to process the whole thing," Jade continued once more. "To me, Edenia doesn't even exist. I can't see it, I can't touch it- it's entire history has been erased; I can't even look it up. What's the point in even learning about it to begin with if I already know there's nothing there? Sure, I could find out more about it here, in this timeline, but that doesn't help me if we're able to get back to our own time."

"Hey, hey," Kung Lao started, as he dropped the rag into her lap and moved to take her by the hands, squeezing them in his hold once more. "Cut yourself some slack. Admittedly, this entire future thing is a lot to process, but we don't have to try and rationalize it all at once. The whole Edenia thing is a big shock- even to me, and I'm not directly fazed by it. I've only ever heard about Edenia in passing; mostly in a few of our studies from time to time and from Raiden mentioning it once or twice as well."

Jade wasn't surprised.

Lord Raiden had a long history with Outworld.

As a former Elder God himself, there was no doubt that he would've had a similar history with Edenia; at the very least, he would've known about its existence.

If the Protector God had known about Edenia this whole time, had he also known about Kitana's relation to it? Had he known that she was the crowning Princess to Edenia and kept it a secret? If so, had he done so to protect Kitana from it?

Then again, considering what had happened once the secret was out, Jade wouldn't be surprised.

"Fujin has archives that go back hundreds of years worth of centuries, you know," Kung Lao continued. "The timing here isn't perfect, but if we get through all of this, and don't royally fuck things over when we do, we can find out what there is to know about Edenia in our own timeline. It doesn't have to be something you feel like you have to throw away because it doesn't fit in anywhere. And who knows, maybe you'll find out about where your lineage started- that might be interesting to see."

Jade felt the way Kung Lao traced his thumbs over her knuckles as he spoke and was reminded of why she liked having him around.

He was calming to be around- at least, when he himself was calm as well.

He was oddly soothing and supportive in private, despite his brash and unkempt attitude when he was in the arena.

Colluding with Earthrealm was what had gotten them into this mess to begin with, but there was no denying how powerful of an ally Earthrealm was to have- especially in times like this. With hope, their loyalty towards the former Edenia would hold some answer for her.

Jade freed one of her hands from his before she cupped it against his jaw and pulled him into her- kissing him softly with the motion. And she felt the easy way he gave into her once more, felt the way he moved his hand to overlap her own.

"You only say that because of how important your lineage is," she teased.

"Yeah, well, you never know, our lineages might merge one day," Kung Lao replied.

She caught herself laughing now before Jade moved a hand to squeeze his chin, shaking his head slightly as she did so. "You are ridiculous."

"You have to admit it's not out of the question," he reminded, "- especially after that performance."

"Let's just get you cleaned up."

"I have to finish you first," he insisted, as he picked the rag back up. "I left you in a bit of a mess."

"It's how I like it," Jade mused, as she moved to guide his hand with her own once more- this time running the rag over her abdomen and thighs now.

She pulled him back in and kissed him again as she continued to move his hand around her body, guiding it back up around her breasts and neck. There was more weight behind his touch now and she teased him by squeezing her hand against his own, squeezing his hand against her breasts.

They really didn't have the time for another go-round but... it was fun to play the idea while they could.

But the warmth of his lips pressed against her own, the subtle twitch of a grin shared between them was hard to let go of.

"Alright, alright," Kung Lao whispered, kissing her once more before he managed to pull himself away from her. "Do not make temptations; that's what they say, isn't it?"

"Haven't an idea, I'm not a monk," she remarked. "We should get this stuff settled and washed off though- before someone comes looking for us."

Jade used the rest of the water in the bucket to wash his hair out, and while it was difficult to tell if the concoction had made any real difference to it, at the very least she had tried. And at the very least, she had gotten his hair washed to begin with.

At the end of it all, Kung Lao was back to looking the way he did before.

Maybe even a little better at that.

"Well, well, look at this handsome man," Jade teased once more, as they both got back to their feet. She couldn't resist moving her hands to his face once more as she looked him over- admiring what could probably be the last time she'd see him naked.

As much as she had been enjoying herself and his company, she knew there were other things she needed to tend to, especially after such a long break away from the rest of the camp.

Despite this whole situation being a little less about needing to distract him for Kitana, and more about her wanting to be here to begin with- Jade still needed to go back and speak with the woman. And considering the amount of time she had spent with Kung Lao, by now Kitana should've been done with Liu Kang as well. Hopefully anyways.

The warm embrace of his hands brushing against her ribs was hard to pull herself away from though.

"Why don't you dry off and get dressed- and I'll speak to Kitana about when we're going to discuss the issue with Kronika and the Osh-Tekk," Jade continued, already dreading the idea of having to speak business again. Part of her just wanted to stay here, to stay with him, and talk about whatever they could think of between the two of them.

"I thought we were going to wait for Mileena to return?" Kung Lao questioned, as he wrung the water from his hair once more.

"We are- for now at least," she replied, "- but if Mileena doesn't return by night fall then we'll send you two back to Earthrealm and fill her in on the situation ourselves. I'm sure Lord Raiden is waiting for you two."

"Yeah, probably with plenty of work for us to do as well."

Jade chuckled at his remark before she felt him pull her into one more kiss- and she had to fight the heat that came with feeling his skin pressed against her own once more.

"Remind me as well, before you leave, that I have something that'll help with the sunburn," Jade added, taking note of the more obvious patches of red on his skin, now that it was clean and getting dry. "If you guys were staying the night, I'd offer to '_assist_' with it. But since that isn't the case, I can at least let you take it to Earthrealm with you- as long as you promise to bring the bottle back."

"I'll try my best, but no promises if Kronika gets ahold of it first," he remarked.

Fair point.

Jade supposed she couldn't hold it against him if their timeline as they knew it got reversed.

"Uh, how exactly are you going to get to Kitana?" Kung Lao asked. "Your clothes got kind of... soaked."

The thought hadn't even crossed her mind until then.

Last checked, her uniform was soaked in the same raw mixture of oil and paint- something she wasn't even certain would come out of the fine fabric. She had another uniform she could change into, but it was in her tent, which was a good distance from his.

"I'll be fine," Jade assured. "I'll just put it back on and run to my tent before anyone notices."

"You sure about that?"

"Well it's either that, or I run the distance completely naked," she replied.

"Not a bad option," Kung Lao offered- only to laugh when she slapped him on the arm.

Forcing herself to separate from him, Jade walked over to where her uniform had been kicked aside earlier and plucked it off of the ground. It wasn't too terribly bad, but she knew she wasn't going to enjoy putting it back on either.

But she did- and she had to wrangle herself inside of it due to the heaviness of the material.

And it was about as uncomfortable as she thought it would be.

Jade slipped her boots back on and blew him a kiss before she stepped out of the tent- and she tried not to make it too obvious as she hurried back to her own. Again, she was pretty certain none of the Tarkatans would even notice, let alone care, but it was sort of the principle of the matter.

She barely made it in time to duck inside of her tent as Jade caught sight of Liu Kang departing from Kitana's.

Her timing was impeccable sometimes.

She tried not to focus on the somewhat muffled conversation going on outside as Jade worked herself out of her clothes once more. She had to quickly scrub herself down to get rid of the transferred oil before she could even think about putting her other uniform on. And in the short time between uniforms, she dropped her stained one into one of the water barrels that was low on reserves- reminding herself to let it soak and hopefully wash the oil-paint mixture out.

Her new uniform fit longer at the sides but was far more comfortable given how dry the material it was.

Giving herself a brief look over, Jade ensured that she hid any evidence of her previous actions before she stepped back out into the camp.

If she was able to get herself re-dressed and looking acceptable again, than so could Kitana- and if not, it wasn't like she didn't already know what the woman had been up to.

Jade headed to the tent next to hers and stepped inside.

"Well?" she mused, fighting back the smile on her lips as she caught Kitana in the midst of a stretch as she spoke. "How did your '_talk_' go?"

The woman gave a loud sigh in response before she dropped her arms back down, looking as though she might pass out with the motion. "Well enough, considering the circumstances," Kitana answered, rolling her neck as she spoke before she moved to pace about once more; still restless, it seemed.

"What do you mean?" Jade questioned.

"There's just- there's a lot going on and I'm just trying not to get lost in all of it," the woman answered. "There's a lot to think on, a lot to contemplate. I just- I just wanted Liu Kang to know that I appreciated his help; considering how dedicated he is to Earthrealm first, we owe him a lot for putting us before Lord Raiden. Not to mention, there is still a lot we need to plan for ahead of time as well- and there's no doubt that we'll need to call for his help again."

A familiar sounding story.

A thought process Jade herself had gone through when she was with Kung Lao.

"Once we figure out what Kronika's plans are in using Kotal's forces as her own, we'll need to figure out how to stop both of them. We need to figure out how her plans in Outworld will intermingle with her forces in Earthrealm- and then we need to figure out how to take on Kronika herself," Kitana continued, seemingly just speaking out loud at this point. "We talked about Shao Kahn when we arrived here but... in comparison to Kronika, a Titan, Shao Kahn is nothing but a mortal man in my eyes now."

The longer Kitana spoke, leveling out her doubts and fears for the future, the more Jade became focused on the pit of her stomach.

"Did you... discuss all of this with Liu Kang?" Jade started.

"Of course," Kitana replied, as she turned to face her, "I told you that was what we were going to do."

And Jade supposed she must've made a face in response.

Because Kitana almost immediately rolled her eyes at her.

"We've been over this, Jade, as much as you like to tease me about it, Liu Kang and I are not like that," the woman reminded. "I respect him greatly and he does the same, but whatever this _thing_ that people keep trying to push us into, _now_ is not the time to do so. We both have our own realms to protect, both of which are facing extinction under Kronika's hand."

Jade said nothing.

Too busy running the past hour or so of her own actions through her head.

"Why is this such an issue?" Kitana pressed. "And why are you bringing it up now?"

It wasn't often that Jade felt embarrassed by her actions- and embarrassed wasn't exactly the term she would use for it either. But she had been headstrong going into the whole situation, only for it to now be revealed as a miscommunication between them- and a fairly large one at that. And what a hell of a miscommunication she had taken it for.

Although, in Kitana's defense, the woman had stated that she just wanted to talk to Liu Kang.

But in Jade's experience, she also knew the woman so very rarely actually meant that.

"Because I just spent this whole time distracting Kung Lao, like you asked," Jade answered. "I thought that maybe you and Liu Kang wanted to figure out your own relationship woes during that time. I thought you guys wanted to figure things out on your own- in privacy, which we so very rarely get."

"Okay, and?" Kitana shrugged.

Again, Jade didn't respond.

And this time, there seemed to be a slow look of realization that crossed over the woman.

"Jade," Kitana started, slow at first, before she moved to cross her arms, "what did you do?"

"What I thought you were doing with Liu Kang," Jade replied, "- and also a little more, because quite frankly Kung Lao looked awful in that Osh-Tekk paint. And he also needed a little extra tender care afterwards."

"Jade!"

"Are you telling me that you didn't at least help Liu Kang get that paint off?" she questioned instead.

"What? No, he said he would deal with it later," Kitana answered.

Considering how long it had taken her to help Kung Lao, with both of them somewhat working on the matter, Jade couldn't even imagine how long it might take Liu Kang to do the job on his own. With luck, maybe he would go to speak with Kung Lao after this and get some help with it- especially seeing as she had left all of her supplies still in his tent.

"Gracious, Kitana, you talk about being grateful and yet you can't even help scrub some paint off," Jade remarked, mostly sarcastic with her words- lest she really piss the woman off. "Look, I thought I was helping by buying you a _lot_ of time with Liu Kang- but apparently I was helping Kung Lao instead. And apparently, working on my own relationship issues at the same time."

"You are ridiculous," Kitana started.

"What's ridiculous was how _well_ I distracted him."

"Stop. Talking."

Jade chuckled at the woman's pointed response. "Okay look, that matter aside, perhaps we need to figure out what we're going to do instead. Are we still waiting for Mileena to return before we discuss the ordeal with Kronika and the Osh-Tekks?"

Kitana shook her head and resumed with her pacing, looking more bogged down by her thoughts as she did so this time. "Yeah, that's the plan anyways. If she isn't back before nightfall though, we'll just listen to the information ourselves and send Liu Kang and Kung Lao back to Earthrealm, and then discuss the matter with Mileena. As crazy as it is to admit, I think she'll know what to do- or at least, she'll know more about what to do than I will. I still can't wrap my head around this whole thing- around _this_ future."

That was a bit of an understatement.

"We're both dead and we've been revived as Netherrealm Revenants; there's a time Titan named Kronika who's dead set on rewinding time for her own gain. Mileena survived the Tournament and is now Empress of Outworld- _and_ controls the Tarkatan army. And she had enough political sense to re-establish treaties with the Shokan and Centaur tribes after they bailed out after Shao Kahn's death," Jade listed. "And now our timelines have merged so we have to re-set our own future, lest we fall into the same repeating pattern again."

There was so much shit going on, it was hard to find their place in all this mess.

Even just trying to take things one at a time was almost too difficult to handle.

"And also Kotal knows that I'm here- and he thinks that if he helps Kronika win this time war then he can create a future where we're together," Jade continued. "So you know, if trying to stop myself from dying and becoming a Revenant wasn't bad enough, now I have to make sure he doesn't win either. And you want to hear the craziest part about all of this?"

"The fact that you slept with Kung Lao?" Kitana offered.

It was Jade's turn to roll her eyes now.

"It's that I'd rather be a Revenant serving Quan Chi than be a wife at Kotal's side."

Kitana paused with her pacing once more and grimaced at her words- as strongly-phrased as they were.

But Jade meant every word of them.

She was done serving people; she just wanted to be who she was- who she wanted to be.

"We'll figure this out, Jade," Kitana assured, as the woman deviated from her pacing and walked over to her.

Jade felt the woman put her arms around her before Kitana pulled her into a tight hug; a gesture she quickly returned with just as much squeeze. And even with such a simple gesture, it felt like there was a weight lifted off of her shoulders. It might've only been temporary but for now it was all that she could ask for. And given how chaotic things were going to be when Mileena arrived, with the potential of all of them needing to be in one tent to run the discussion, a quiet moment of downtime like this was necessary.

"You even changed your clothes, I can't believe this."

And Jade caught herself laughing at the almost whine in Kitana's voice.

"I cleaned myself up, don't worry."


End file.
